Three Truths about the Holy Spirit

In Habits, Prayer by BizgaineyLeave a Comment

I’ve enjoyed a remarkable week in the Word!  Every day, I’ve learned something new and been encouraged by Christ’s Spirit in profound ways.

It’s a week during which I’ve been reminded of the powerful truth in Hebrews 4, which describes the Word of God as living and active.  Indeed, perhaps the most “alive and active” power in the world.  One we have the privilege and joy of connecting to daily.

Our church is in a season of prayer, fasting, and discernment regarding an opportunity we believe the Lord is placing …
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Advent Declares that We, at long last, Have a Place to Call Home!

In Formation by BizgaineyLeave a Comment

For Christians around the world, Advent is a season of expectant waiting.  It’s a season where we reorder our lives around the coming of the Messiah.  Why?

We believe that the Messiah’s coming is a good thing.  A great thing!

The earliest accounts convey His coming as a historic event, bringing with it the potential to change the world.  An event that is designed to usher in an age of God’s good for the world.

The in-breaking of this news was as frightening as it was astounding.  After the angel …
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I Am No Blogger.

In Formation by BizgaineyLeave a Comment

It’s official.  I am no blogger.  How have I come to realize this fact?

Simple.

Bloggers blog, consistently!

I am also learning that I am not a writer.  How have I come to realize this fact?

Writers write, consistently!

I don’t consistently blog or write.

Don’t get me wrong: I love blogging, and I love writing.

Avocation or Vocation?

But I am discovering that blogging is more of an avocation (hobby or activity beyond my regular responsibilities, work, and service) than a vocation (my daily responsibilities, work, and service).

In …
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How Hurricanes Help Develop Habits for the Long Journey Home!

In Addictions, Formation, Freedom from Porn, Fully Awake, Habits, Pornography, Sex and Violence, Small Groups by BizgaineyLeave a Comment

Here we go again.

Hurricane Dorian is wreaking havoc already, and it’s still days from making landfall.  I have lived in Florida nearly all of my adult life.

As such, I am accustomed to dealing with hurricanes.

By saying that I am accustomed to dealing with hurricanes, I don’t mean to imply that I know how to handle them. Instead, I mean that expecting them, preparing for them, and doing my best to endure them is now a matter of habit.

Indeed, activities I used to give considerable forethought, are …
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Y-Axis Reality and The With-God Life!

In Christian Leadership, Christianity, Church, Church Leadership, Culture, Desire, Formation, Ministry, Pastoral Ministry, Social Imaginaries, Social Imaginary, Spiritual Formation by BizgaineyLeave a Comment

Ask yourself the following questions:

Why am I here? Do I serve a purpose in this world? If so, do I know what that purpose is? What’s the meaning to life? Who am I? What are my dreams, hopes, and aspirations? When do I last remember feeling happy or experiencing a deep sense of contentment?

Did you have trouble coming up with satisfying answers to some of these questions?

If so, you’re like most of us who struggle with coming to grips with answers to life’s most important questions about …
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Redeveloping the “Y” Axis!

In Brokenness, Christian Leadership, Contemplation, Formation, Psalms, Spiritual Formation, Transformation by Bizgainey2 Comments

If you remember, I finished my last post (here) with the assertion that the church is in position to restore what I call a y-axis reality.  Borrowing the term “x-y axis,” we first learned in geometry.

The x-axis is, of course, the horizontal (time-bound/natural) plane.  For our purposes, the x-axis represents a life lived and experienced on a horizontal playing field. On this horizontal playing field, all that you see is all that there is.

No reason to look up or out.

There is nothing, or no one, there.…
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Becoming “Y” Axis People!

In Formation, Social Imaginary, Soul-Care by Bizgainey2 Comments

Since the launch of Disruptus (2014), I’ve written primarily about three overarching topics/ideas:

Spiritual formation.  Articles concerning the recovery of its place of primacy within the modern church.  Particularly as spiritual formation and soul-care shapes and molds spiritual leadership and congregational life. Pornography, Addiction, Recovery. Recovery issues related to compulsive sexual disorders that plague our world and are directly connected to the mass production of pornography.  The porn industry, with global revenue in the multi-trillions of dollars, is arguably the largest industry in the world that commodifies the human body…
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A Memorial Day “Number” to Remember: 63,922

In Addictions, Freedom, Freedom from Porn, Pastoral Ministry, Pornography, Sex and Violence by BizgaineyLeave a Comment

This Monday, the 27th of May, is Memorial Day.

It’s the day our country sets apart as a day to remember all the men and women who have died while serving in the United States military.  Nearly every city in our country will offer some service or “moment” this coming Monday.

We are encouraged to pause, reflect, and – most importantly – remember the high cost of freedom.  Indeed, many Sunday morning houses of worship will join the chorus calling us to remember!

As you prepare for this day, I’d …
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Five Reasons Why I Am a Man Against Porn

In Addictions, Consumption, Habits, Loneliness, Male and Female Relationships and Roles in Marriage, Marriage, Men Against Porn, Parenting, Pornography by Bizgainey1 Comment

Five Reasons Why I Am A Man Against Porn

I am an outspoken critic of porn.  I am also a proponent of putting an end to the global industry it has spawned.

My goal in all of this, however, is to offer hope and encouragement to men and women who struggle with compulsive sexual behavior disorders.

Most, if not all of these disorders, are connected to porn consumption and/or addiction!

This “work” against porn, in support of love (yes, the two are mutually exclusive) began over ten years ago.

My …
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What You Need to Know Before You Join a Recovery Group

In Addictions, Formation, Habits, Men Against Porn, Pornography, Social Media, Technology by Bizgainey1 Comment

Have you ever asked yourself, “What will it take to beat this addiction?”  I sure did.

Many times.

Over.

And.

Over.

And.

Over.

Again.

My wife asked it of me about a thousand times more than I asked it of myself.

Here’s the deal: If you’re asking, at least you are acknowledging that you have a problem!

Many Men Never Ask the Question: “What will it take?”

Most men – many men – never get that far.

While I can’t tell you every step you’re going to need to take, …
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